


Avatar: Louie's Journey to Self-Acceptance

by CartoonLover



Category: DuckTales (Cartoon 2017)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Avatar & Benders Setting, Brother fluff, Family Fluff, Gen, Panic Attacks, Protective Family, Protective brothers, della's not the best at parenting but she's trying, i havent seen this show in forever so sorry if some things are incorrect, i know its on netflix but i havent gotten around to rewatching it yet, if you so much as look at louie's brothers wrong he will hurt you, louie doesn't want to be the avatar but comes around to it eventually, not proof read cuz fuck that, teen and up for cussing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-01
Updated: 2020-08-01
Packaged: 2021-03-05 03:14:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 21,393
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25177504
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CartoonLover/pseuds/CartoonLover
Summary: Louie is the avatar, and doesn’t that make his life a lot more complicated?
Relationships: Della Duck & Louie Duck, Dewey Duck & Donald Duck & Huey Duck & Louie Duck, Dewey Duck & Huey Duck & Louie Duck, Donald Duck & Louie Duck, Louie Duck & Scrooge McDuck
Comments: 4
Kudos: 49





	Avatar: Louie's Journey to Self-Acceptance

**Author's Note:**

> this is going by the official order of the show btw, just so some of the gaps make sense.
> 
> also it wasn't supposed to be this long, it really wasn't.

The boys are around five when they find out about benders & bending. Their Uncle tells them about it, tells them how certain people can bend certain things and how there was even someone who could bend all four- called the Avatar. Dewey thinks it'd be pretty cool if he were the avatar but his brothers don't share his sentiment, though Huey does admit he can see the merit in it. Louie stays quiet. 

Louie stays quiet a lot. 

They each get their own bending abilities in the next few weeks. Huey has firebending, Dewey has waterbending, and Louie has airbending. The triplets think it suits them extremely well.

They spend most of their nights talking about it, long after their Uncle tells them to go to bed. Some days they get to practice their bending- when their Uncle is home and able to supervise them, and those are the days they find the most fun. Of course, it helps that he's a bender as well. They learn a lot of techniques and moves from him- most are waterbending but he knows a fair amount of the others as well. Over the first year they progress fairly quickly but their Uncle tells them that's normal with their family. They think it makes their family pretty cool. 

Things are pretty normal for the next few years- the boys go to school, practice their bending, and hang out with one another while Donald bounces from job to job. It isn't until the triplets are seven that that changes. Huey and Dewey are at after school events so it's just Louie and Donald in the houseboat. Louie is doing homework at the kitchen table while Donald is doing some cleaning. It's quiet as they both concentrate and it isn't until Louie gets up to get something from the fridge that that changes. 

He almost drops something and instead of air shooting out of his hands to stop it it's fire. The cup falls on the floor with a thud as he looks at his hands unsurely. What just happened? "Louie." Right, he isn't alone in the kitchen- his Uncle definitely saw it as well. "Louie, look at me." 

He does with fright and Donald bends to his level, "Uncle Donald?" 

"It looks like you're the Avatar, kiddo." His Uncle responses gravely for reasons he doesn't understand. He runs a hand through his hair, "Okay, this is not how I thought today would go... No one else can know about this." 

“Huey and Dewey.”

“Yes, them, but no one else. Being the Avatar is a big thing and if the wrong person found out something bad could happen. I really need you to trust me on this. I," He shallows, "I can't have something happen to you. You're registered as an airbender and according to everyone else that's what you are, just... be careful with using the other parts. Actually, just don't use them if you're not here, better safe than sorry." Louie nods at all of this as though he understands and on some level he thinks he does. The Avatar is this really important person- someone whose supposed to keep the nations' balanced. That's a _lot_ to put on a seven-year-old. And their family. 

His Uncle just wants to protect them, he knows that- and that's why he'll listen to him. "Is it bad?" His Uncle quickly hugs him, 

"No, it's not. Just a lot of responsibility you're not ready for. Enjoy being a kid, Louie, don't let this stop you. You can figure it all out when you are ready." 

* * *

He tells his brothers later that night, as they're all getting ready for bed. He's nervous to do it and has no idea how to approach the subject, but he hates keeping things from them. And maybe they would be able to ease some of his nerves about it. His Uncle had helped but he still feels uneasy about the whole thing. 

"I need to tell you guys something." His brothers look at him curiously, "... I'm the Avatar." They look like they don't believe him- which, fair enough, so he shoots out a tiny flame from his hand. Dewey gasps and grabs his hand like it could somehow give _him_ fire powers and Huey tilts his head, wanting to start questioning him about it. He nods to let him know it's okay and he begins. 

"How are you feeling?" He starts with, because of course that's what he starts with. It's one of the reasons Louie's okay with him -both of them- wanting to know more. They care about _him_ before anything else. 

It's also one of the reasons he can't lie to them. "It's a lot. I don't know how I feel, not really. Uncle Donald told me it's a lot of responsibility and if the wrong person found out bad things could happen. It's all scary and I just want things to go back to the way they were before!" He fights back the urge to start crying and throws his hood up. He's beginning to not like this. 

"But it's you for a reason, right?" Is all Dewey asks, and how could he possibly answer that? 

Huey does it for him, "It's not chosen at random- not from what I've read at least. It's a specific person with specific skills, I mean look at the last Avatar. Mickey Mouse was a legend- he was somehow all the best qualities you could ask for in a person -though not without his flaws- and he made people better just by being around them. If that's not what being the Avatar means I don't know what is. It's you for a reason, Louie." 

Louie looks at his brother with something like awe in his eyes. Both of them are amazing, maybe it should've been one of them. "Even if it is me for a reason it's still a lot. I'm seven, I can't handle all this responsibility!" 

"But you'll be able to eventually." Huey points out to him and he stays silent. He doesn't have anything else to say.

His brothers excitedly chat about it the rest of the night and all Louie can think is, 'I don't want this'. 

* * *

Things are different after that day. Different with Louie, Different with his family. They try to act like it's not but he can see right through it. He appreciates the effort but it wouldn't do them any favors lying. And that's what he tells them. He does want things to go back to how they were before but knows it isn't possible and acting like it is just makes the whole thing worse. He just wants things to get better. For all of them. 

They listen to him and they all finally really address the elephant in the room. Louie is the Avatar. And it's as scary as it is cool. Of course, Louie doesn't think it's cool- he was perfectly fine just being an airbender, but it seemed like fate had other plans. It always does. "It changes a lot but change isn't always bad. You have to decide how it affects you." Their Uncle tells them. And it sounds like good advice so Louie listens to it. Or he tries to anyway- he's seven, it's hard for him to change his opinion about something. Ironic, isn't it? 

Their training continues as normal and they continue getting better and better at their respective elements. Sometimes Louie even tries his brothers' elements, especially after Dewey expresses how he thought it was so cool they could both learn waterbending. He has a hard time disagreeing with that- it does sound pretty cool, if something good came out of this Avatar thing it was that. He loves being around his brothers and doing things with them, they laugh at all of his jokes, except the self-deprecating ones- which, is fair enough. They stay with him during school, even when there are much cooler people to be hanging out with. And they always know what to say to make him feel better. He thinks they're the best. 

And they think he's the best. Which is just an added bonus. 

* * *

He doesn't do much bending when he's out of the houseboat- not even air, some part of him thinks he'll mess up and do the wrong element, and then it's _all_ over. So yeah, no bending for him. He doesn't mind though, he likes bending but he doesn't have to do it 24/7. He'll just leave it to his brothers. 

Being out in town gets stressful for him, it's too crowd and there's so many ways he can get lost or separated, he'd much rather be at home. But he can't stay home forever and he knows it, especially when his family is out. He likes being with them so he thinks it weighs out. Besides, whenever he gets too anxious he can always reach for Huey's hand, or whenever he gets too overwhelmed he can turn to Dewey and his blinding reassuring smile. And when it gets particularly hard he can seek out his Dad's comforting embrace. 

It's a system that works and that's all that matters to him. 

But when he does bend something inside of him, changes. Like a missing part of him is suddenly there- it completes him in ways he can't explain. He vaguely wonders if it's an Avatar thing or a Louie thing- sometimes he can't tell which is which. He thinks that's the scariest part. The thought that one day he could go too far and lose himself is a thought he doesn't want to imagine. It's what makes him so afraid of being the Avatar, of being himself. But when he bends those thoughts drift away, it just him and the element. And that probably has something to do with the feeling of completeness he gets from it. Maybe. The whole thing is way too complicated for him. 

The point is that even if he doesn't like being the Avatar he likes bending. 

Bending to him is the greatest thing he can possibly do and anytime he gets to do it is time he very much enjoys. It's one of the many reasons he likes staying home so much. When he's home he feels like he can really be himself, it's the only place he feels safe enough to be himself. He hopes that never changes. 

* * *

Sometimes he'll have dreams- nightmares really, where people find out he's the Avatar. They never end well. He wakes up screaming more times than not, which in turn wakes the whole houseboat.

But then his family is there, letting him know that it was just a dream, that he's okay. It takes him a while to calm down, and he's almost never able to go back to sleep- but they're there, they never leave.

Sometimes he tells them about them, most times he doesn't. Most times he can't think about them without getting scared all over again, without remembering all the horrible horrible feelings that came with them. Most times it's easier just to try and forget- no matter how impossible that is. It's easier when he's not alone. With his family he knows he's never alone. 

However when he does talk about them he tells _everything_. He talks about how he slips us in a place he shouldn't up, he talks about how people- _so_ many people see. He talks about how said people turn him over to bad people or are bad people. He talks about what the bad people do to him, _force_ him to do and he talks about his forcibly separated from the rest of them and how much it terrifies him. He talks about that a lot. But talking helps, more than he can ever imagine- it makes his chest feel lighter. Especially after his family reassures him that things are okay, that if that did ever happen- and that's a big if, they would do whatever they could to fix it. They tell him that they're there, that they're all there and that's the most important part. 

Eventually the nightmares get less and less- and by the time he's nine he's barely having any. 

* * *

School is hard, not as hard as it is for Dewey but still pretty hard. The other kids don't like them, but that's more than fine for him. He doesn't like them either. The teachers are pretty indifferent to them, the only thing that really makes them stand out is the fact their Uncle has a temper like no other. It means that they can't be unreasonably -Huey taught him that word- harsh on them so he's pretty cool with it. It's never turned on him or his brothers anyway, and that's the important part. He's pretty average in most subjects- the only ones he excel in are math and art. Those are his favorites and that definitely has something to do with it. 

Bending is pretty common around the school, especially during lunch and recess. The best benders are the most popular kids and he thinks that's pretty stupid, but knows when to keep his mouth shut so he doesn't say anything. He doesn't care about being popular, he has his brothers and that's all he'll ever need. 

Sometimes, though, some part of him wants to show off his bending. Wants to show those stupid kids just how better he is at it than them, usually after they mess with one or both of his brothers. He's able to suppress it but sometimes he wishes he wasn't able to. Well, he's called the evil triplet for a reason. 

And that name gives him all sorts of identity crisis'. How can he be the Avatar if he's evil? Those kids who call him that name deserve whatever he gives to them, he decides, they're jerks and jerks needed to be dealt with. He's not really evil, he's just looking out for what's most important to him. And that was _definitely_ a Louie thing. 

* * *

Being the Avatar is something he's not sure he'll ever come around to. It's still too big of a responsibility and if he's being honest he doesn't think he's good enough for it. He still thinks it should've been one of his brothers but at the same time he doesn't. He doesn't want this for them, he's always wanted better for them. This is too much for them, for him, and he knows they wouldn't be able to handle it. He can't handle it. 

His family still tells him he'll be able to eventually and that for now he should just focus on being a kid- his Uncle really stresses that last part. And he wants to listen to them, it's so easy to listen to them but something always stops him. Something tells him it's not that easy, he hates whatever it is. He doesn't want to listen to it but it makes him, it thunders in his mind until it's all that he can think about. It overwhelms him and makes him feel like he's suffocating. He would much rather listen to his family. _They_ never make him feel like that. 

His Uncle calls it anxiety, says it runs in the family. He takes him to a therapist who officially diagnoses him and he starts going in for sessions every week. It's tough at first but eventually he gets into the swing of it. Eventually it's just another part of his crazy life. There are a lot of parts to his crazy life- some he likes more than other, _way_ more. And as much as he hates to admit it being the Avatar is the most important part. It's not most important _to_ him, it could never be, but it is the most important part. 

And it makes him worry a lot more than he would like. He literally has the fate of the world in his hands and holy crap is that scary to think about. It's him for a reason, he wouldn't be chosen if he wasn't supposed to be- that's what he tells himself. And it works, it's something he takes comfort in. Everything will figure itself out eventually and he knows that, he just has to be patient enough to see it through. Besides, if the most important part of his life is that he’s the Avatar, what does he have to be worried about?

* * *

Finding out Scrooge McDuck is their Uncle is a rollercoaster to be sure. He means, it's Scrooge McDuck, and they're related to them! It's the greatest news he's ever gotten and then a dragon gets set free and it's less great. But Scrooge is able to take it down- all with his bare hands which Louie thinks is incredible, and before he knows it they're off to Atlantis. 

The journey there isn't as boring as he thought it would be. He and his brothers spend the time getting to know Webby, they find out that she's a nonbender but that her Granny's training had more than made up for it. He believes it honestly. He doesn't know any kids who can take down three people in one fail swoop- without bending. He thinks it's pretty cool and when he discovers she's never lied before he finds someone he can take under his wing. It's something he's not used to as the youngest. 

Once they get to Atlantis Dewey runs off immediately and he doesn't know how he feels about that. He's gotten too used to the three of them always being together. But it's whatever, he can worry about it later. Right now he has to deal with going through an upside-down temple? Yeah, that's what this is. And it's harder than it looks, he doesn't know how Scrooge does it so easily. Years of experience probably, _lots_ of years, his Uncle is definitely at least a hundred. He doesn't want to think about what that means for the rest of the family. He's pretty sure it would give him a headache anyway. 

When they get to a room with a rickety bridge his first instinct is to turn around, to head back, to do anything he can to get away from it. This adventuring thing might not be as great as he thought. It just _screams_ danger and he's never been good with danger. Why is he the Avatar again? That seems like something they would be good with. Like a requirement or something. Briefly he wonders what else is a requirement and if he'll ever fulfill them. Does he even want to? 

Well, it's not like he has a choice. And that's the _worst._

Fire shoots up as Dewey crosses the bridge and it gets so close to him that Louie considers showing that he's the Avatar to save him. Luckily Dewey uses his own waterbending before has the chance to and it feels like he can breathe again, without even looking at Huey he can tell it's the same for him. Huey almost falls off the edge in his relieved filled anger and Louie has to pull him back, reminding him to watch what he's doing. His brothers are idiots but they're his idiots and he won't trade them for the world. 

Huey gets the chance to show off his bending next, when snakes try to attack all of them and- Dewey ran off again, what is with him today?! When they get home he is gonna knock some sense into him. That is, if their Uncle Donald doesn't first. Or Huey. One of them will probably handle it but he's gonna handle it too, in the only way he knows how. But that's for later, _way_ after this is all over. Huey is able to keep the snakes away from them until they get to the next room and Louie questions if he will be able to show off his bending, and will he want to? 

He was willing to put it all on the line earlier sure, but his brother was in danger and there isn't anything he won't do to save his brothers. But if it's himself in danger? He isn't sure. And isn't that kinda scary? Whatever, he has their backs and they have his, it works out. 

Unfortunately -or maybe fortunately- for him he does get the chance to as well. People he's never seen before attack them and he doesn't really have a choice if he doesn't want to get hurt. And he doesn't want to get hurt. He takes them out pretty easily and it feels surprisingly good, like he's reconnecting with a lost part of himself. That kind of makes sense, he hasn't done it as much lately. Something tells him that's going to change. 

He still hates change. 

The sub ride home is much more, packed than the ride there. He spends the majority of it tucked away from everyone. His Uncle gives him an understanding smile when he sees him and goes back to berating Dewey. Huey sends him a questioning look and he nods, he's next to him in less than a second. He sits next to Louie and lets him squeeze his hand without needing to be prompted and Louie thinks about how much he loves his family. 

"Dewey ran ahead today, is that gonna become like a thing?" It's something he _needs_ to know, needs to know if they're not always gonna be together anymore, needs to know so he can act accordingly to Dewey getting himself in trouble- as he tends to do when he's alone. And if they're not together when one of them gets in trouble then it's not the good kind. And it's not the kind Dewey can get himself out of. 

"Probably not." It's silent for a few seconds then, "It's Dewey. He won't go too far." Right, they won't ever go too far from each other. And he won't let himself ever be the one to break that. 

* * *

They move in with Scrooge and things keep changing. The first thing his Uncle tells him when they do so is that he can't tell any of them that he's the Avatar. Louie doesn't need to be told that, his now nonexistent nightmares echoing in his mind, but nods along anyway. His Uncle looks a bit guilty so he assures him that he doesn't want to tell them anyway. The less people that know the better, his Uncle wholeheartedly agrees with that. 

"I'm scared." Louie then admits to him. 

"Scared of what?" 

Louie starts messing with his hoodie strings, "What if I mess this up?"

His Uncle draws him into a hug, "Louie, you know who else worried about being a good Avatar? All the previous Avatar's, and they all did great, and so will you. You have to trust yourself. And you have to let yourself relax- people mess up, we make mistakes, but we make up for it and do better. That's all anyone _can_ do." 

"You think I can do this?" 

He looked at Louie fiercely, "I _know_ you can." And if his family believes in him maybe he can believe in himself too. That's a strong maybe, his anxiety makes it hard for him to think good things about himself. But his family is stronger than his anxiety, they always have been. 

He gets closer to Webby and his other Uncle, the later mostly through adventuring, and even comes to consider Launchpad as part of his family but doesn't lose his closeness to his other family members so it's a win-win all around. The others bring a lot of change with them, suddenly he has to be careful in his own home and doesn't really know how to do that. Sometimes he'll be doing something and instead of air shooting out of him it's one of the other elements, luckily though they never see it. But it makes him curse himself every time it happens, knowing next time he might not be as lucky and all the bad things he still worries about will happen. 

His brothers make him take breaks every now and then, saying that all of the worrying and beating himself up isn't healthy. He agrees with them. The breaks usually consist of watching movies on his laptop or playing video games in the den, never alone. They're always there with him. Sometimes when they're feeling particularly energetic they'll build a fort, one that encompasses the whole den or bedroom- depending on where they are when they decide to do it. It usually takes them a while to do it and they're more than exhausted when they're done, but it's a good kind of exhaustion. 

"I don't _want_ to worry about this." He confesses to his brothers one time after they've finished one of said forts and are laying in it. "But what else can I do? I can't just not think about it." 

"You don't have to think about it so much, there's more to you than being the Avatar. And there's ways to deal with those worries, what if you found somewhere to use the other elements? Then the flare-ups wouldn't happen so much." Huey suggests and he considers it. It sounds like a good idea, but where was a place like that? 

His answer ends up being in the form of the forest- the others never go in there, simply because they have no reason to, and other than wildlife it's completely secluded, Louie loves it. Someone always has to go with him of course, it's dangerous to go into a place like that alone, but he doesn't mind. He loves spending time with his family and if something goes wrong there's always someone there to help him fix it. His Uncle is usually the one to go with him and it ends up being the most time he spends with him in a while. They're both busy, he gets it, but that doesn't mean he doesn't miss him. Miss the way things were before. 

Things were simpler then, even if they weren't and this new life gets too chaotic for him at times. He loves the new members of his family, and he loves spending time with them and getting to know each other but they don't stop. They _never_ stop. It's exhausting. 

Maybe that's why he likes the woods so much, out there everything just, _stops_. He can just be. Sometimes that all he needs. 

* * *

Adventuring is hard, he comes to realize while going through Toth-Ra's pyramid and it's even harder when he has to keep a closer eye on himself. He's getting better with not mixing up elements but when he's in the heat of the moment anything can happen. And it does, but not in the way he expects. He ends up sacrificing himself to Toth-Ra and wow that's the last thing he thought he would ever do. It works in the end though thanks to Webby, and Scrooge, and pretty much everyone but himself. How is he supposed to be the Avatar if he can't even save himself?! 

He's in a sour mood for the rest of the day and that's why when the comments start he makes his way to his room. It's fine when it's only his brothers doing it, he knows they're just teasing him- he can handle that. But when the others start as well it's suddenly more serious, too serious, and he can't handle it. He has to get away. 

His new room had quickly become his safe space and anytime he's upset or mad that's where he goes. There's something calming about it when he's alone and he feels it even stronger when he's not. But right now he kinda wants to be alone. Which of course means that the door opens. 

"Hey, Louie." An awkward voice comes from behind it. Dewey, he immediately knows. He hears footsteps come into the room and feels his bed move. He puts his head in Dewey's lap with a sigh. "I'm sorry, we shouldn't have said that stuff." 

"It's not your guys' fault."

"Louie..."

Louie shakes his head- or attempts to anyway. "Your comments didn't get to me cause I knew they were just that, it was everyone else." He sighs again. "I couldn't even save myself, how am I supposed to protect the whole world?" 

"Oh." 

"Yeah." The room falls silent and he's left to his thoughts. He knows Dewey wants to say something to help him but he isn't sure there's anything that could. Well maybe... the previous Avatars could, but contacting them is impossible for him right now. He's not strong enough yet. So he just has to get strong enough. But he needs help for that. "Dewey, how would you like to help me with something?" 

* * *

The forest is really dark during the night but it's the only time they can go out undisturbed. And he doesn't know if his Uncle will stop him if he finds out what he's doing but he doesn't want to chance it. It isn't just him and Dewey though, because _of course_ he asked Huey for his help too. He was hesitant at first but eventually came around, which made Louie feel a lot better about this. 

He doesn't know what he is doing, he needs both of his brothers with him. "Okay, how do we do this?" He asks them as soon as they're at a clearing. 

Huey hums, "You're a con-artist, right?" What does that have to do with anything? Sometimes he doesn't understand his brothers. 

"I fail to see how being a con-artist can help us here but yes."

"To be one you have to know how to work angles right?"

"That's like con-artist 101." 

"So find an angle to work." He suggests and Louie feels like hitting himself, now it makes sense. An angle to make himself strong... Practice? Hard work? Ugh, neither's his cup of tea. And how does he even know when he's strong enough to contact them? This won't work, maybe he should call it now. No! That's what he always does, he wants this- he has to work for it. 

But how? Wait, "Huey, how did the previous Avatar's do this?" 

"Meditation from what I read." Meditation, that shouldn't be too hard. All he has to do is nothing, he's great at that. 

He sits on the ground and closes his eyes, trying to quiet his mind. Vaguely he can hear his brothers in the background, he turns around on gives them a fondly exasperated look. They sheepishly quiet down and he goes back to concentrating. He doesn't know what to expect but the fact that nothing at all happens is kind of a letdown. He waits a few minutes but nothing changes so he opens his eyes with a sigh. 

"Nothing." He says in response to his brothers' questioning stares. 

"Well then you just have to keep trying." Dewey states optimistically and Huey gives him a reassuring smile. Yeah, he just has to keep trying. 

* * *

It hits him one day when he's out in town, how much his brothers look like him. It should be obvious- they're identical triplets for pete's sake, but it's not. It's not until it's literally shoved in his face that he realizes. And for most triplets that would just be a cool fact but he's not most triplets. He's in danger just for being who he is, which means his brothers are in danger just for looking like him. And that's when he freaks out. 

Internally of course, he's still out in public. And right now they're dealing with an old bully from school, ever since they moved into the mansion Mrs. B has been homeschooling them, something he's secretly grateful for. Especially in times like these, the less they have to deal with these jerks the better. 

"Don't you have anything better to do than annoyed a bunch of old classmates?" Dewey asks said bully. The bully scoffs in his face and he has to hold Huey back by the arm to prevent him from attacking, he understands the urge, he feels it too. But they can't make the first physically move- he knows that well. He just hopes no physical move is made. 

Eventually the bully gets bored with them and leaves, leaving the three of them to continue to go through town- hopefully undisturbed this time. Which means Louie can place his attention back on his freaking out from before. 

The last thing he wants is for his brothers to ever get hurt so the thought that it can happen because of him, it honestly breaks him. If he didn't want to be the Avatar before -which he didn't- this realization makes him want it even less. They _can't_ get hurt because of him, they just can't. Maybe there was a way to not be the Avatar, maybe he doesn't have to be stuck with it. But, if he was just an ordinary airbender, could he protect them? That's all he wants to do, which puts him at a major impasse. It makes him feel like sobbing. 

"Louie, you're being quiet. Everything okay?" They noticed, of course they noticed. And he really can't lie to them, and they'll just keep asking until he talks so staying silent isn't an option. But how can he point it out to them? What if it makes them mad at him? What if it makes them _hate_ him? 

And that's when he starts crying. They're hugging him in less than a second. 

"What's wrong?" Dewey asks as they sit at a bench. He just shakes his head fiercely, he can't tell them, he can't have them hate him. "Louie, you can tell us anything. We're here for you." 

"I'm sorry!" He chokes out; they look at him confused. "You're in danger because you look like me, because of who I am, I'm sorry!" He buries his head in his lap so he doesn't see the understanding look shared from above him. 

"It's not your fault." Huey simply says. He raises his head hopefully, maybe they won't hate him after all. "It's not your fault you're the _Avatar."_ He drops his voice to a whisper for that last part and starts rubbing his back. "It's not your fault we look like you. We'll figure this out, okay? No one even knows it's you, as long as it stays that way we'll be okay, we'll _all_ be okay." 

Louie rubs his eyes, "What if someone finds out? What happens then?" 

Huey thinks for a moment, "We'll figure it out if it happens." 

"Okay I guess, but aren't you scared?" His brothers share another look. 

"We're scared for you more than anything, honestly." What? How does that make sense? "You're the Avatar, Louie, Uncle Donald said himself- if the wrong people find out something bad happens. That's _terrifying_. But it's like we said when you were having those nightmares, if it happens we'll do whatever we can to fix it. Nothing's happening to any of us without a very strong fight." 

".... And you don't hate me?" He asks softly, they look at him like he's just asked them the worst question he can ask. And maybe he has. 

"We could _never_ hate you. We're your brothers, Louie, you're stuck with us- we're as ride or die as it gets." Louie grins and hugs them again, thank god for that. He wouldn't know what to do if they ever hated him. But the thought that they're just as scared as he is is kinda relieving. It's also kinda upsetting, but it's nice to know he isn't alone in this. That's something he'll have to remember. 

* * *

The mystical golf course does something weird to him- it doesn't happen to anyone else so he knows it's an Avatar thing. Great, how wonderful. He tries his best to hide it, if the others find out something's wrong they'll start asking questions. And he really can't have them asking questions. 

Something then pulls him away while the others are focused on the golfing, he takes one look at them before going. It's a nice distraction from the fact they could all die if they stay here. And yeah, that should really make him want to stay put but the pull is far too strong. Besides, he figures he has some time to kill, Scrooge is being too stubborn to let Dewey -who is obviously better than him- golf. They'll be here a while. 

He ends up in a clearing of some sort, he's half expecting the murder ponies -or whatever Webby calls them- to jump out and try to lure him to the sea but nothing happens. He stands there for a few minutes and is about to turn back when something shoots up from the ground. He takes a step to it and the whole ground lights up, kinda like what happened earlier but different somehow. Huh, that can't be good. But against his better judgment he continues on. When he reaches the thing he sees that it's a stone, covered in some language he doesn't understand- probably the same language from the previous stones. 

Something tells him to touch it so that's what he does, and suddenly he can understand it perfectly. Okay, this is starting to get weird, maybe he should go find Huey. But just as he backtracks a wall of light goes up around the area.

Great. This whole day is just _great._

He knows he's trapped until he does something, he just doesn't know what. But it's something to do with the stone- obviously. And it probably has something to do with the weird thing that was happening to him before. He's fine now. He can't explain what it was, all he knows is that he felt very tired. Maybe this has the answers. But to get them he has to read, and he doesn't like reading. 

But he doesn't like being trapped either so he'll do it. As he skims through it a couple of things start happening: wind starts to swirl around the area, the words start glowing, and he begins floating- something he's positive he can't do. He doesn't understand what's happening and he's getting scared, he just wants to go home. He hears a quiet voice in his ear and turns around but nothing's there, he does fall down though so that's something. He lets out a groan as he lands and rubs his head soothingly. 

The wind has died down a bit but the stone is still glowing and it's at this point that he realizes that he's been gone for far too long. He needs to go now. "Let me out!" He screams to whatever's keeping him there. It doesn't work. "I said, LET ME OUT!" A blast of fire comes out of his body completely obliterating the wall. That's new. 

He leaves before he can dwell on it too long and runs back to the others, eager to get out of there. When he catches up with them he attempts to slide in like he never left but a look from Scrooge lets him know that doesn't work. His brothers give him questioning stares and he shakes his head, he can't say anything here. They nod in understanding and the game goes on as normal- or as normal as mythical golf is. 

He'll worry about what just happened later, right now they have to get out of here alive. 

* * *

He's in trouble for running off, which isn't surprising, and when his Uncle demands to know where he went he just gives a vague answer. Needless to say, he isn't happy with that. But he drops it when Louie refuses to elaborate, he knows he'll pay for that one later. "So what was the place exactly? Just a weird golf course or....?" He asks to get his Uncle's mind off of their conversation. It works. 

"Basically, if yew'd listened yew'd know that the ancient druids built it ta keep playin' golf. The mist was a bit much though." That's something he can agree with. "Oh and of course there's an old legend surrounding it." 

He leans forward in his seat curiously, "Legend?" 

"Just that ane o' the previous Avatar's left somethin' there fer the future anes. But there's no way of actually knowin' fer sure." Well, there is one way. But what did they leave exactly? And how did it affect him? He has to wait until he gets home for answers and he hates that. There's no way he'll be able to think about anything else until then. Which is why he decides to take a nap. 

When he wakes up they're back at the mansion, thankfully, now he can go into the forest and figure out just what happened to him. Except that doesn't happen as fast as he'd like it to- as soon as he gets into the mansion his Uncle is standing there looking at him like he wants answers about something. He's paying for it now. 

"Louie, you ran off, do you know how dangerous that is? You could've gotten hurt! Just, what happened exactly?" His Uncle asks, running a hand down his face. 

"I'm still trying to figure it out." He looks around the den hoping his Uncle gets the message, he does. They move outside and Louie explains everything that happened. And how much it confuses him. "I was hoping to go into the forest to find out what's going on." 

His Uncle nods, "Alright, let's go."

The walk there is quick and quiet; when they get to the clearing Louie always goes to he stops, unsure what to do. "You said fire came out of your body back there?" His Uncle offers to help. 

"Yeah, I was angry and scared. I just wanted to get out of there." His Uncle looks at him sympathetically and rubs his shoulder comfortingly. "I don't know how to do it again though, maybe that stone made accessing the other elements easier? Or unlocked something more powerful in me? I'm not sure about any of this, Uncle Donald." 

"That's okay, you'll figure it out. Why don't you try something now?" Right, that's what he came out here to do. He concentrates but the anger doesn't come to him like it did before. So he tries for a different emotion. Anger isn't his strong suit anyway. Is any emotion? He likes being happy, but who doesn't like being happy?... Right, he needs to focus. Okay, happy, he can do happy. What makes him happy? 

His family- he immediately knows. Money, treasure, solving a difficult math problem that not even Huey can solve, painting a canvas with no thought in mind and somehow making something he's proud of. Going over taxes with his Uncle, playing video games with his brothers. Just being around the three of them. _That_ makes him happy. 

He lightly gasps as he feels his body heat up and expels fire from himself a second later, singeing the ground beneath him, he did it. He actually did it! 

He turns to his Uncle who's watching him proudly and grins before hugging him; he gets hugged back right away. So he was right in his second guess, whatever was on that stone unlocked something in him. He feels more powerful than he's felt in a while and he silently thanks whichever Avatar left it there. It's something that called to him right when he needed it most. Maybe that's the point of it. Maybe he's more connected to the previous ones than he realizes. 

* * *

He's learning the elements out of order, he learns one day. He's supposed to be learning water next but fire seems to be the one that's happening. He has a pretty good grasp on air and knows bits of the other elements but fire is the one coming forward most of the time now. That's not supposed to happen, he doesn't understand why it's happening. 

It can't be because he's around someone with firebending, he's around two people with water, so what's the deal then? And is it something he should be worried about?

He decides to learn water too, just in case. 

Learning, really learning, two elements at the same time is hard. Even if he has his brothers to help him. He keeps messing up and shooting out the opposite one than what he meant. It gets old quickly. One day he spends all day out in the forest, determined to get _somewhere_ with this. Make some sort of progress. He isn't alone as it's still too dangerous to be out there alone but his brothers know to be quiet. Or to go further away if they're gonna be loud, so he might as well be alone. 

Which is good, he needs to concentrate. He takes a deep breath in and holds his hands out in a way that should make water flow out of them. Nothing happens. He groans in frustration and tries again, still nothing. What is he doing wrong? Maybe he's just not meant to learn water right now. 

Just to test this theory he moves to shoot fire out of his hands and does so perfectly. What the actual fuck? Ugh, he's not even a normal Avatar. Can't the universe give him something? 

After that day he decides to table water for now, if it's not broke don't fix it. He just hopes it doesn't mess anything up. 

* * *

The fact that Dewey is hiding something from them isn't as surprising as it should be in retrospect. But what he's hiding? That's a big surprise. Louie doesn't know how to feel about his mom, she left them but according to his Uncle she loved them more than anything. He always figured he wouldn't have to come to some sort of conclusion about her, that it would be okay if he was indifferent, but that quickly becomes not true. Dewey had been researching her behind their backs, and that hurts more than he thought it would. 

"You kept a secret about mom. That is not okay." He can feel Huey glaring at their brother from his spot on the floor but can't bring himself to look up. This is the worst time to get told that but here they are. And there the demon-dog is, pushing Huey back from the door and forcing its way into the room. Great. Really great timing, Dewford. 

He ends up getting separated from his brothers and doesn't know how to feel about that. He's mad at Dewey, the maddest he's ever been at him, but this would be a lot easier if he had his brothers with him. Looks like he'll have to do this on his own, now isn't the time to think about how scary that is. 

The dog is a good ways away from him when he hears the scream, and before he can form a single thought he's rushing his way towards it. There is only two other people here and mad as he is he doesn't want either of them to get hurt. He sees red as soon as he sees the dog cornering his immediate older brother, he tries to shoot fire out of his hands to get it away but nothing comes out. What, he has good control over his firebending, why is it acting up now of all times?! Flames come from next to him in the form of his oldest brother before he can think about it too much and the dog turns away from their brother, and towards them. Oh boy. 

He grabs onto Huey as he cowers behind him, knowing he can't really do much to help right now. But before the dog can attack them it's being blasted away by a strong spout of water. Once it's safely away from them Dewey cautiously comes over to them, "Are you guys okay?" Is the only thing to come out of his mouth. Louie isn't sure if he's okay, a lot had just happened. 

Dewey apologizes to them and he sounds so regretful of his actions that Louie forgives him right there, he doesn't know if that's the best idea but he doesn't care. He has a weak spot for family. And Dewey did just save his life so... it evens out in his books. Louie forgiving him seems to be the push Huey needs and the three of them hug it out. It's a nice moment but Louie's reminded of his bending fluxation all too quickly. "I couldn't firebend, and I don't think wind would've been much different, why did that happen?" 

"Maybe it's emotional?" Dewey suggests, trying not to look guilty. 

"You guys' emotions aren't tied to your bending." He points out. 

"Well yeah, but we've had years of practice with ours, and you're just learning fire now. It's gonna take you some time to perfect it, so things like emotions are gonna affect it for a while. I know it was like that with me when I first started. And I'm sure wind was like that with you when you first started learning it." Louie nods, it actually had been. Is he gonna have to go through that three more times?! "I can help you you know, you just have to ask." 

Right, sometimes he forgets about that. "Huey, I'ma need your help with this." 

"Anytime." 

* * *

Anytime turns into about once a week. Dewey tags along too, just so he doesn't feel left out, but he often goes and does his own thing so it's just him and Huey.

They start with the basics, since Huey hasn't had a professional tutor for too long he isn't the best teacher but he's good enough for Louie. Once he gets the basics down -which is pretty quick- they move onto harder things, and that's when he gets lost. Huey's patient though, and it's something he's extremely thankful for. He slows down when he sees Louie is having a particularly difficult time and explains things in a different way, no matter how many times he has to explain he does it until Louie gets it. One time he asks him if it's frustrating having to do that and he simply replies, 

"No, I wouldn't be doing this if I didn't want to. You have to take your time with these things, Louie. And I'm willing to help you as long as it takes." And that's when he officially decides Huey is the best oldest brother ever. 

Everything clicks for him one day and suddenly he's firebending like he's never firebended before. The proud look on Huey's face makes it all worth it. 

* * *

Finding out what happened tho their mom is like a gut punch. Of course, he quickly realizes Dewey must get his sense of timing from their Uncle Scrooge- who tells them while they're all stuck on top of a mountain where one wrong move could mean the end. Dewey makes him tell them though so it's understandable. This changes his views on his mom by a lot and it's something he dwells on all the way to the marina. He knows his brothers are in the same boat. 

Pun, not intended. 

His Uncle dotes around them for a while and they let him, they know he's really worried about them. Louie's really worried too, his brothers aren't telling him anything and that isn't like them- one incident withstanding. He wants them to talk to him, he wants to talk to them, this whole thing is a mess. And one he doesn't know how to fix. There is one person who does though, he's always known how to fix everything else. 

He goes to his Uncle with his concerns and by the end of the day he's sitting the three of them down and asks them to talk about what they're feeling. Louie goes first. His brothers listen intently as he goes on about his thoughts on their mom and how this information makes him not like her. That even if she had thought she'd be right back she shouldn't have gone, that if she'd loved them as much as everyone said she did she wouldn't have done it in the first place. They have similar thoughts. When they're done talking their turn to their Uncle as if he has all the answers. Louie isn't sure he does. He isn't sure anyone does. 

"Boys... I can't tell you how to feel about her, I can't make you believe things about her, I can't even tell you what she was thinking it those moments cause I don't know. What I can tell you is you're okay, there's nothing wrong with feeling how you're feeling. She hurt you, international or not you're allowed to be angry or upset, or even both. What you're not allowed to do is keep things to yourself, you have to talk about how you're feeling. It's the only way you'll be able to process it." Yeah, their Uncle doesn't have all the answers, but that's a pretty good one. 

The four of them share a hug and everything feels okay for the moment. And that's when the others choose to barge in. 

It's not that he minds -okay, he does a little bit- it's just that they're so much and he doesn't have the forest to retreat to. He does have the back of the boat though. And that's where his Uncle finds him, but to be fair to him it's not like the houseboat is that big... and he knows the triplets pretty well. "They're a little loud, huh?" He says as he sits next to him. 

Louie nods, "This'll blow over, we'll give it a few days then go talk to Scrooge, if that's what you guys'll want of course." He kind of wants to do that now though, he isn't really mad at Scrooge, he had a good reason for building the rocket, Louie's sure. But his brothers are mad at him and he'll always stand by his brothers. "How's fire training going?" His Uncle asks to change the subject. It's a welcome to change, he needs to think about something else, anything else. 

"Good, really good. Huey's been a ton of help." 

"And contacting the previous Avatars, how's that going?" Louie stares at him surprised, 

"You know?! How long have you've known?!" 

His Uncle gives him a knowing look, "Since the first time you three snuck out of the mansion. I figured that's what you might be doing. I wouldn't have stopped you you know, I still won't. You're connected to them and you want to find out more, I get it. Just be careful, that's really dangerous stuff." 

Louie nods but his surprised look doesn't change, just gets mixed with curiosity. "You get it? How?" 

"You know the previous Avatar, Mickey Mouse? I was friends with him." Well, this day is just full of surprises, wait until his brothers find out. "That's how I know so much about this." He gets a wistful smile on his face, "Mick was one of my best friends, the six of us -me, him, Goofy, Minnie, Daisy, and Della- were like a gang. We would go all over the world trying to help him master his bending. But after him and Della the rest of us stopped talking." His voice turns sad at the end and Louie instantly feels bad for him. He can't imagine losing one of his best friends, let alone two. 

"I'm sorry, Uncle Donald." 

His Uncle turns to him. "Don't be. It isn't your fault... That's the biggest downside to being the Avatar. And why it's so important for you to be a kid for as long as you can. It isn't fair to you that this was put on you, and I know you know that, but that's just how it is sometimes. The best thing you can do is let the people who care about you help you. If you need any help with that stuff just ask, okay?" 

"Okay." They fall silent after that, watching the waves calmly go back and forth across the sea. And that's when a loud explosion comes from behind them. "If we don't look it didn't happen." His Uncle sighs,

"I wish that was how it worked." The two of them turn around to see someone floating? From where the mansion used to be. "Oh phooey." Yup, his Uncle took the words right out of his mouth. 

Oh phooey indeed. 

* * *

Magica De Spell has his Uncle Scrooge, and any anger he's possibly feeling towards him vanishes, they have to rescue him. The others agree and they formulate a plan, a plan which ends with him and his siblings getting left behind. That won't do. 

The four of them take off after the adults which leaves Louie conflicted, he wants to save the day, but what if he has to reveal he's the Avatar to do it? If it's gonna be anytime it's gonna be this one, but he knows without even meeting her that Magica is the type of person he Uncle warned him about all those years ago. If she finds out only bad things will happen, he's sure of it. She _can't_ find out- if not for him than for the rest of his family. He won't let her or anyone use it against them. He'll just find another way to help. 

While they're walking the conversation somehow turns to their Mom and Webby asks a question that really makes him think, "You guys are so interested in your mom but not your dad?"

But Dewey's answer is simple enough, and true. "We already have one of those." A look between the triplets says they'll have to bring it up to their Uncle/Dad later. "But I don't know if I'm interested in her anymore." 

"That's okay, I don't think I am either." Huey admits and Louie finds himself agreeing, he wasn't really that interested in the first place anyway. Besides, they have more important things to worry about right now. They should probably move to a lighter conversation topic. Which works until they find the amphitheater where Lena hangs out. Then things get more serious. Like, uncomfortable serious, he kinda hates it. 

Lena is somewhat of an anomaly, she likes Webby well enough but he doesn't think she likes the rest of them. Plus, sometimes she disappears for days and then comes back like nothing happened, it's strange. He thinks she hiding something but so is he so he can't really say anything. Then he'd be a hypocrite, and he does not like being a hypocrite. And now they find out she apparently _lives_ in the amphitheater, oh! And she's working for Magica! Because of course she is. He can feel his fire flare-up before it leaves his hand after he sees the expression on Webby's face and quickly extinguishes it. Now is not the time for his emotions to cause a problem. He can always get revenge on Lena the Louie way later. 

Which is the best way in his opinion. 

Things are pretty boring until they get to the money bin, it's like every other day except people's shadows are coming to life. So, normal for Duckberg. It honestly isn't much of a surprise that this is the town he's being raised in. The Avatar attracts weird, he knows that by now. Apparently it also attracts shadows as as soon as they're in the bin they get attacked by an onslaught of them. They're able to get away from them but the point still stands. They then run into their Uncle/Dad who tells them to go help Scrooge, which they're very quick to do. He can very clearly handle the shadows. It's awesome. 

They're able to take Magica down, between the boys bending and Webby being Webby she doesn't really have a chance. He feels right in his element -what is it with him and puns today?- bending alongside his brothers. He still feels like bending is the greatest thing ever but doing it with them is even better. The three of them together are like some unstoppable team, they cover each other's weak spots and balance one another out perfectly. Sometimes he thinks if the Avatar could be more than one person it would be all three of them. That would probably make it easier. 

After he deals a particularly hard blow to Magica he revels in how good his control has gotten. Going into this he was terrified of fire accidentally coming out of him, or even water or earth- but now he's pretty sure it won't happen. He has confidence in his abilities and it feels great. 

They, well Dewey technically, manage to get the dime away from her and free their Uncle. From there the fight is between the two of them and the kids become sideliners. And that's fine with him, he's _exhausted_. He then finds out that Lena disappeared after trying to protect Webby and Dewey and his feelings of revenge fly out the window. The triplets offer Webby some condolences and the four of them hug. The fight ends with Magica without her powers fleeing and it's their turn to share a hug with their Uncle, all hard feelings left behind and forgotten. The McDuck family is back together and Louie can't be happier for it. The houseboat isn't his home anymore, his family isn't just his Uncle/Dad and his brothers- and that's change that he's more than okay with. 

* * *

He doesn't like adventures, he came to that realization a while back, but he likes his family so it evens out. This one, in particular, is extremely hard and the only thing that's keeping him from collapsing is his brothers. And their ability to talk about _anything,_ no matter how strange or silly. The three of them can go on for hours about the stupidest things, today it's dogs flying. How they got there he'll never know but they're here now and he's _living_ for it. 

Dewey's voice brings him back into the conversation, "You've heard of dogs flying but what about hamsters swimming?" 

"Okay, I kinda wanna see that." Louie admits. He's already making plans in his head for when they get home, maybe this afternoon won't be so bad after all. But just as he thinks that he remembers hamsters cost money. 

"We can do that, like go get a hamster from the wild and train it." Oh right, wild hamsters are a thing. Cool, plan's back on. 

Huey moves a vine out of their way, "Sometimes I forget there are wild hamsters. No cages, no masters. They're free." Good, he isn't the only one who forgot about them, he feels better about himself now. He then realizes something, 

"Actually maybe I don't wanna see that cause of all the fur."

"That's guinea pigs." Louie gets a really confused look on his face. Guinea pigs? He thought Guinea was a country, are there pigs there? Wait, pigs don't have fur. Do they? 

"Louie exe. has stopped working." Dewey jokes with a smirk. 

"No it's fine I just forgot what guinea pigs were for a second." His brothers look at him with shock and he quickly tries to say something to justify himself. Nothing comes out. The bad feeling is back again. Only in conversations like this can his mood change so drastically. Well, that's not true, but it seems to happen the most during them. At least it's nothing too serious. 

"You forgot what guinea pigs were?!" Huey exclaims outraged. 

Like he has any room to talk, "YOU FORGOT WHAT DUCKS WERE LAST WEEK!"

"WE'RE DUCKS, HUBERT!" His immediate older brother adds on. 

"IT WAS A VERY STRESSFUL WEEK!" There's a pause in the air and then the three of them are laughing hysterically. And if he gets to have moments like this then maybe adventures aren't so bad. Of course, that's when something has to go wrong. That's just how he's life works, isn't it? Apparently, while the three of them were talking they had gotten to their destination, only their destination isn't as empty as he thought it'd be. Something that looks like a giant iguana parrot had beaten them there, or maybe it lives there- he isn't about to ask. Their Uncle gestures for the four of them to get behind him and puts a finger to his mouth. Well, this is quickly getting less fun. 

They're almost out of the room when the thing turns towards them and before they can even blink it attacks Scrooge. They scream as he tries to fight it off and gets flung against a wall, he's okay but the rest of them are in trouble. The thing advances and the triplets ready their hands, looks like it wants a fight, they'll gladly it one. They manage to hold their own for a few minutes as Webby goes to help Scrooge. But then things change and his brothers ended up in its talons. 

And before Louie knows it he sees red- no, he sees white. 

The Avatar state is something he's heard about but he had never thought to access it. This time he doesn't think, he's just there. He doesn't know what happens next as he blackouts but when he comes to it's to his brothers shaking his shoulders and shouting his name. He slumps against them and feels them quickly grab onto him. No one says anything. 

* * *

He doesn't remember the plane ride back home, but he does recall how quiet Scrooge was. The next thing he remembers is his Dad checking him over, frantically asking what happened. "I know Louie's the Avatar, Donald." He hears his Uncle say. _Oh no_ , what did he do? 

"He used the Avatar state in front of them." Huey explains. "But it wasn't his fault!" 

"I'm sure he had a good reason. We'll talk about this tomorrow, Scrooge, he's exhausted." His Dad puts his foot down but he barely hears it. He let it slip, the bad people are gonna come and take him away, everything he's always feared is gonna happen and there's nothing he can do to stop it. And his family, they're gonna be so upset, they'll be completely inconsolable and blame themselves, and all because he couldn't control himself. What kind of person is he? He doesn't deserve to be the Avatar, he doesn't deserve to be a part of this family. He doesn't deserve anything. 

He feels himself being gently placed in his bed and feels like crying, he didn't even remember being picked up. "Louie, it's okay. We'll figure this out." His Dad says to comfort him. 

"I'm sorry!" He chokes out. 

"Sorry for what? You saved our lives back there!" Louie looks at them, they're not mad, there's not a single trace of anger anywhere in them. Why? He messed up... he saved his brothers, how did he mess up? He didn't, it's just his anxiety pulling things out of proportion. Again. 

"I'm not gonna let Scrooge do anything to you, okay?" His Dad continues as if he hadn't been interrupted. "Nothing's gonna happen to you. Scrooge isn't one of the wrong people, he just needs some time to get used to it. The worst he'll do is try to start training you, but you don't need to start worrying about that for at least six more years so it won't be happening. It'll be okay, Louie, I promise." During his speech Louie had started crying and is now clutching onto him tightly. Nothing is gonna happen to him, he gets to stay wth his family. He's okay, they're okay. Everything'll be okay, but he is pretty tired. 

Just as he thinks that he lets out a yawn. "Okay, time for bed, it's been a long day." He climbs in his bed without complaint and feels two bodies climb next to him, he smiles.

Their Dad places a kiss on each of their foreheads and leaves after making sure they don't need him to stay. They don't say anything for a couple of mintues before he thinks to ask his brothers if they're okay. He should've asked sooner but it had been hectic earlier, things are calmer now, thankfully. They're fine and ask how he's doing, he can't find it in him to lie, plus, he's way too tired. As he tells them he realizes something, he went too far today, he almost lost himself- just like he always feared he would. 

The thing that makes him so scared to be the Avatar happened, and then it didn't. His brothers brought him back, as long as he has them he'll never completely lose himself. Maybe he doesn't have to be so scared. 

* * *

His conversation with his Uncle is awkward, to say the least. It's clear he and his Dad talked about things behind his back, and considering it was about him he's kinda upset. But he has a feeling if they didn't things between him and Scrooge would've gone differently so... he can't be too upset. He can be nervous though, which he is, he doesn't think he's ever been this nervous. Wow, that says a lot about him. 

"Louie," His Uncle sighs. "Ae'll admit ae dinnae where ta start. Donald said yew know how big o' a deal this is so that's good. He also said ye were scared somethin' bad would happen which is nae as good. Yer my nephew, ae'll do whatever ae can ta protect ye, nothin' is happenin' ta yew under my watch. Alright?" Louie doesn't know how to respond so he just nods. And that's when things get awkward. "Donald thinks ye shouldnae start trainin' yet but ae do so we'll just do it secretly-"

"No." Louie interrupts him. 

"No?" 

He shakes his head. "I don't want to start training, Dad says I don't have to do it until I'm sixteen. I want to be a kid! I want to play games with my siblings and watch TV in the den! I wanna overuse my phone and go on adventures with treasure involved! I don't want to spend my whole life being the Avatar! I never wanted it in the first place!" He isn't supposed to admit that last stuff- not too Scrooge, he's just starting to admit it to himself. But it's the truth and he hates that it has to be his truth. Why can't he just be normal?! He just wants to be normal... 

His Uncle looks at him sadly, "Ae know, lad, but it's happened and ye just have to deal with it. We'll put the brakes on the training fer now, ye seemed ta be doin' quite well anyway. Ye cannae avoid this but yew deserve ta be a kid as long as ye can, just like the others. But yer more than the Avatar, Louie, yer so much more." 

Louie hugs him with tears in his eyes, "Thank you." 

* * *

The forest is like a third home to him -his second is the houseboat- and now that he can go there without having to hide it he spends most of his free time there. Like right now. 

He sighs as he opens his eyes, still nothing. The previous Avatars still aren't coming to him. Is he doing something wrong, or is he just inexperienced? He's been going at this for months now, he expected some amount of progress. But he might as well just be starting out now. Maybe it's time to go to his Dad, he knows something that can help, Louie knows he does, he just actually has to ask. He doesn't know why he hasn't, he doesn't want to do this alone- he's pretty sure that's impossible. So he should ask, he just has to move to do it. ...Eh, he can do it later. 

He's too comfortable to move. 

There's just something about the atmosphere of this place that makes him want to never leave. It's just so, peaceful. And he _needs_ peaceful, he would lose his mind without it. Sometimes he feels like he's already losing his mind, but anxiety would do that to you. Along with being a McDuck, and the Avatar. God his life is stressful. 

But that's okay, it's also a lot of other great things as well. And even if he doesn't like parts of it he can't ask for a better one. 

* * *

Louie saves the day, and he does so without the use of his bending. Well, he was the one to cause the problems in the first place but he solves them in the end and that's what really matters. He's still grounded. But he also gets an idea out of it so he isn't too mad. 

He doesn't know what Louie Inc. is yet but he knows it's gonna be great. It's the thing he's been most excited about in months and gets to work on it immediately. And that's when he hits his first roadblock. He needs an idea but he has no idea what that idea can be. He thinks about what he's good at- now adding seeing angles to the list, and wonders how he can apply that to a business. Until he realizes that's what a business is: numbers, money, angles- he's practically a living business! Now he just needs an idea. And he's back to his roadblock. 

Huey always says that when you're at a block the best thing you can do is take a break and come back to it later so that's what he does. He plans on taking a couple of hours, a day at most- he takes two weeks. It's pretty much in the back of his mind when an idea suddenly pops in his head, well, not an idea idea but an idea of how to get one. He needs to go to his Uncle. So that's what he does, it doesn't end the way he thought it would but he gets another idea. 

Okay, enough thinking that word, it's starting to sound weird. 

He goes to his sibling, sans Dewey, and asks them to get involved. That sounds like a good idea, making a business with the people you love. And he would have Dewey get involved as well but knows he would not be a good employee. He doesn't want him to get upset over that fact so he decides it better to not have him involved at all. Later he mends that and goes on his talk show with his other employees. Dewey should get to be included too, in some way. It goes pretty well all things considering, and the smile his brother has the rest of the day makes it worth it. 

The only real problem he as with the talk show is finding out that the harpies are all taken care of. Which is a problem for him, if he doesn't have the harpies he doesn't have a business, and that's not good. Especially since he can't pay his siblings. This isn't supposed to happen, this was never supposed to happen, he's supposed to be able to have a plan and have it be successful, but now it's all falling apart. He has to fix it. Letting the harpies out again isn't the smartest idea he's ever had but he's not even the one to let them out, it's his Dad. He feels like he should've seen that coming on some level. 

His Dad ends up getting almost taken away by the harpies and that's when he knows he has to step in and do something. He flies up to where the houseboat is and vaguely hears someone behind him, must be Storkules. The three of them try to find a way to bring the houseboat back to the ground all while battling harpies- he finds out that they really don't like fire, but then again, most things don't. He also finds out that they're really attracted to their merch and that it means he has to toss the rest of it to get them down safely. It's a small price to pay. Once they're on the ground his Dad berates him for being reckless with his airbending- which, fair enough, but he just replies, 

"You were in danger, I had to do something." His Dad hugs him and his siblings join in a second later. He apologizes to them, promises to start planning things out more, and they forgive him. He and his Uncle have another talk and after watching Webby and the harpies he has another idea. 

And that's when Louie Inc. starts to take off- under his Uncle's tutelage of course. Which he doesn't mind, if they can't bond through training maybe they can bond through that instead. 

* * *

He has to learn water, he's been putting it off for too long. He has fire under control so he needs to move onto the next element, that's how it works, right? Well, it took him about five years to master air and it isn't like there's any hurry -knock on wood- so maybe he can take his time. But something tells him the longer he puts it off the more likely he is to not wanna do it. Well, he's like that with a lot of things so it's not really a surprise. 

Maybe he can focus on fire a little longer but just as he starts to something weird happens, nothing comes out. He tries again and the same thing happens. He tries not to panic but he can't help it, he has it down, why is nothing happening? Oh no, did he mess up learning the elements out of order? He tried to learn water but it didn't happen, fire did, why is he being punished for it? He needs to talk to his Dad.

He explains everything to him and he nods as if he might have been excepting it. "There are consequences to learning them out of order. Water is probably gonna be the hardest for you, that's why fire came out instead of it. I don't think you're ready to learn water next but because you were born an airbender it's the one you have to learn next. And I don't think you can use fire again until you do. Though I do have to wonder why it was fire instead of earth...." 

"Why is water gonna be the hardest for me?" 

"It's just a guess since you've been struggling with manifesting it. Each Avatar has an element the struggle with the most, usually dictated by the element opposite the one they were born with. But it seems like it's not the case in your case, which means this next part is gonna be really hard. If you want fire back you need to learn water." Oh, guess he has to learn it after all. But why did he get to learn fire in the first place? Why give it to him just to take it away? He needs answers and there's only one place he's gonna get them.

* * *

He goes to the forest again, but this time he's not leaving until he gets an answer. This isn't fair, he had confidence in himself for the first time in forever and it was taken away, he doesn't deserve that. He doesn't deserve any of this. 

This time when he meditates something happens. Finally, is the first thing he thinks. The second thing he thinks is that maybe he shouldn't have come out here alone. At least his brothers know where he is. Or where he was, cause he isn't sure where he is now. When he opens his eyes he doesn't recognize anything around him but at the same time he does, like he's been here before even if he hasn't. What is this place? 

The spirit world, something whispers in his mind. Oh, that makes sense. But what does he do now? Luckily the answer comes to him. "Hi, Louie." 

Louie lets out a tiny gasp, "Mickey Mouse." 

"That's me. It's nice to meet you." Louie can't think of anything to say so he just nods, Mickey chuckles. "What's going on with you, pal?" 

And that's when Louie remembers why he's here, "I'm confused, I'm supposed to learn water next but I learned fire, and then when I got control under it it disappeared. If I'm supposed to learn water why did I learn fire? And why did it disappear as soon as I learned it?"

"Do you remember how you learned fire?" 

"Yeah, that place in Scotland unlocked it. Somehow." 

Mickey nods, "That's right, Avatar Yangchen left it there to help future Avatars when they need it most. It unlocks whatever element you need most in the moment, for you it was fire, for me it was earth. Fire built your confidence in yourself and once you had that confidence it didn't need to be as present. It's still there, you just have to go through the cycle to regain it." Oh, he gets it now, it's kind of obvious now that he thinks about it. But his confidence is gone now, and he doesn't see it coming back anytime soon. 

"But I don't have my confidence anymore." 

"Yes you do, it's just hiding right now. You seem to think being a great Avatar solely revolves around your bending. But it doesn't- you do. You are what makes you a great Avatar. The choosing process isn't as random as some people think, it takes a special kind of person. People like you and me, people who know how precious life is." 

"How am I supposed to protect that life if I can't even save myself?" Ah yes, the whole reason he wanted to contact them in the first place. 

Mickey smiles at him reassuringly and sits down on the ground. He then pats it for Louie to do the same, "You're ten, you'll learn. And it starts with getting back and keeping your confidence. You have time, don't rush it- when you're ready you're ready." 

"Yeah," Louie looks up at him, "But how come I can access this place _now_? I've been trying for months." 

"Well, for one you can't really access the spirit world until you've accessed the Avatar state. And you have to be truly alone to do it. Some of us are shy you see." He adds on with a chuckle; Louie smiles but then Mickey turns grim. "This is a big responsibility, it's a lot for one person, you found out far too young, Louie. So did I. It's a heavy burden that's placed upon us but it's not one we have to weather alone. The people we care about give us strength, just like we do for them. You're going to do great things one day, you just have to believe in yourself." 

"Thanks, Mickey. But how come you're the only one that showed up? Is that how it works?" Louie asks curiously and Mickey smiles again. 

"I wanted some alone time with my best pal's nephew. Tell Donald I said hi, I think he really needs to hear it right now." Louie nods and feels the world fading away. Mickey gives him a wave and he comes back to the real world to see his Dad and brothers surrounding him worriedly. 

"Mickey says hi." He says to his Dad; he hugs Louie with tears in his eyes. 

* * *

Once he catches them up on everything and realizes he has _a lot_ to think about he asks them what they're doing out there. "You were gone a while, we got worried." Dewey says sheepishly. "We decided to come check on you but Dad saw us leaving so we had to tell him what was going on, sorry." 

"Why didn't you tell me you were coming out here?" His Dad asks. 

"Cause you would've tried to come with and I needed to do this alone. Literally. According to Mickey I couldn't go there until I was alone, I'm sorry for worrying you guys." It's his brothers' turn to hug him and he hugs back while looking at his Dad, waiting for him to respond. 

He sighs, "Yeah, I probably would've but you can't sneak out like that, Louie, you have to tell an adult where you're going. Something could've happened, please be more careful in the future." 

"Yes, Dad." The walk back to the mansion is silent as Louie dwells on everything he just learned. He's what makes him a great Avatar, his bending doesn't make him. He's special, he can do this- he just needs to get his confidence back. As well as some other things, but there's no reason for him to rush. Though he would like his confidence back sooner rather then later. Oh, and he needs to learn water somehow, he knows just who to turn to. He clears this throat, "So yeah I have to learn water next, can you guys help me?" He asks his Dad and Dewey. They're back in the forest the next day. 

His water teachings go similar to his fire, except that they don't, his Dad was right in it being the element he struggles with most. It takes a least two weeks before he can even manifest it. And it's even longer before he can actually use it. But he gets there one day and it's the best feeling he has in a while. He can do this, he has the confidence in himself to do this- he's just gonna have to work harder than he's ever worked before. But he wants this, so he's willing to do it. 

"This is gonna take me a while." He admits to the two of them one day, Huey working on his own bending somewhere nearby. It takes him a lot to admit it but he knows that he needs to. 

"That's fine." Donald assures him. "We'll help you as long as it takes." 

"Yeah, and I'm still learning some things so we can do it together!" Dewey says with a blinding smile, and Louie finds himself really looking forward to learning water bending. 

* * *

They're setting off to go on a new adventure when something happens. His mom walks through the door. At first he thinks it's like a dream or a trick but no, she's really there. He doesn't know how he feels about it but right now he chooses to be happy. He can figure the other stuff out later. 

The first thing she does is get onto their Dad about changing their names, but then the two of them are having a heartfelt reunion that he can't help but smile at. She talks a bit about how she was on the moon and that she had been trying to get home but it was hard to reconstruct a rocket. She never gave up though and he finds some comfort in that fact. Maybe she does really love them and just made a bad decision. Still, he's not sure he can just forgive her. One look at his brothers says they're feeling the same, another fact he takes comfort in. 

The conversation then turns to bending- more specifically her asking if they have it and if they do what is it. His brothers freely tell theirs but when it gets to him he chokes out, "Airbender." She perks up immediately, 

"Cool, just like me!" He weakly smiles at that. He can't tell her he's the Avatar, he doesn't trust her enough. That sucks cause she's his mom but she brought it on herself. She asks him about what he can do and they spend some time talking about that. It's the fastest he thinks he ever bonded with someone but he loves bending and he doesn't have anyone to talk about airbending with, but he still can't forget why this conversation is happening so late in the first place.

Later that night he brings it up to his brothers, as well as other things, and they share how they're feeling as well. They talk about it for some time and eventually decide that though they don't forgive her they want to get to know her. Then they can come to a finite conclusion. But things are still awkward in the morning. He blames himself, his brothers are getting along just fine but he's closed off. "I've gone so long without a mom, I guess I don't really know how to have one." Is what he says when prompted. That's not all there is to it of course but that's the main thing at the moment. How does he do this? He knows how to have a Dad and brothers, sister and an Uncle, and even a weird grandmother type figure, but not a mom. And he _needs_ to know how to do things. 

"This is an adjustment for everyone." His Dad says. "It'll take some time." Understatement, but one he agrees with nonetheless. 

"Right," His Uncle adds on, "She doesnae know how ta be a mom yet but she'll get there." He's not so sure he agrees with that one but he keeps his mouth shut. He's already said enough. 

Their conversation is cut off by a loud noise outside and they all go to investigate. There's some going gold thing in the backyard that he doesn't recognize but the adults seem to. They jump into action while the kids try to figure out how to help. "Oh hey, boys!" Della says from the top of the thing. Louie wishes he's surprised. 

"Della!" Their Dad quacks. "Get down from there!" She brushes him off and attempts to do something but is unsuccessful. His Dad and Uncle share a look and his Dad uses his bending to get her down. "How did this thing get out?" 

"Umm..." Della pipes up. His Dad glares at her. "In my defense it was an accident." The thing moves towards them and they quickly forget their bickering and move accordingly. And that's when the kids share their own look and make a move. The boys use their particular bendings on it while Webby goes for a more direct approach. Then the thing turns on them and water and wind are shot at the back of it. Everyone takes turns distracting it until it decides to just go for all of them and that's when Louie notices a weak spot. 

Before he knows what he's doing he's shooting water at it which makes it go down but the only thing he can focus on is the fact that he's just actually waterbended for the first time. "Yes!" He cheers pumping a fist. 

"Louie..." A voice says from behind him and that's when he remembers who's all there. He turns to see Della staring at him with shock. Oh boy. 

* * *

She's silent until they move back into the mansion, then she has a million questions. He isn't sure how to reply so he doesn't say anything. His Dad takes pity on him, "Della, slow down." 

"Right, sorry. Well, I guess I should start with who else knows?" 

Finally, something he can answer. "Just everyone here." 

"Okay, how long have you known?" He answers her questions as best he can and he can tell she's gonna need some time to get used to it just like his Uncle. But he came around so hopefully she would too. He isn't sure how he feels about her knowing- on one hand, he doesn't have to keep it a secret in his own home and he likes that. On the other hand, he doesn't really like her. He knows he's supposed to wait to get to know her a little better before coming to a finite conclusion but he can't help it. He's fickle like that. "Wait, so you know air and water but you haven't been training? How's that work?" 

"I've only been learning how to use them, not how to fight with them." He explains. 

"We're waiting until he's at least sixteen." His Dad adds on. 

Della nods, "Right, like Mickey." They both get somber and the boys share a look. "Well, at least one of us came back." Their Dad gives a tense smile. It's good to know things aren't just awkward for him. He immediately takes that thought back, he doesn't want things to be even harder for his Dad. They are regardless, but he shouldn't think things like that. Della then turns towards him, "I know I might be the last person you want to say this, but I'm here for you, okay? I've seen how hard this is and I want to help you however I can." Oh, he was really too quick to make up his mind on her. He needs to think some more but for now he just nods. She's a part of his family, and he needs his family to deal with this. 

* * *

Too many people know, he thinks sometime after that conversation. Granted, those people are his family but there's too many of them. It brings back his worries of his brothers being in danger because of him. He knows he's family won't ever tell anyone but the more people that know the more likely it is someone bad could find out. So yeah, he's worrying again. So he does what he does best whenever he's worrying, he hides. It doesn't last as long as he likes though. 

His brothers find him after a few hours, and he really doesn't know how to feel about that. "Louie?" He hears Dewey say. "What are you doing in here?" 

"Hiding." He replies truthfully. He feels movement on either side of him and pulls his knees to his chest. They want him to elaborate but he doesn't want to bring this up again. It's not something any of them want to talk about but they have to, this is an issue they can't run from. "More people know I'm the Avatar. What do we do now?" He asks quietly. His brothers don't say anything. "People know, we're not okay anymore! We have to figure this out! I can't have something happen to you cause of me..." 

"It wouldn't be your fault, Louie, please tell us you know that." It's his turn not to say anything. "It wouldn't be your fault, Louie. None of this is your fault and we'll tell you as many times as you need to hear it." Okay, now he knows how to feel about it, what is it about them and telling him what he needs to hear? But that isn't all he needs to hear, they _have_ to figure this out. Even if it wouldn't be his fault he still can't have something happen to them. He wouldn't be able to handle it. 

He would probably go back into the Avatar state and that place scares him. He doesn't have control over it yet and he doesn't know enough about it to know what could happen to him there. The less time he can spend there at this point in time the better. "We have to figure this out." He repeats. 

"I guess the only thing we can do is make sure the wrong people don't find out." 

"My whole purpose is to protect the world, they're gonna find out eventually. And we can't keep saying we'll deal with it if it happens, that's not enough anymore." 

Dewey looks at him, "So what do you think we should do?" But that's the thing, he doesn't know. He has no idea what they should do. And that scares him more than anything. 

"This doesn't have an easy answer," Huey says after a few moments. "None of this does. And it sucks, quite frankly, but we have each other and _that's_ enough. We can get though anything as long as we're together. Triplet threat." 

Louie smiles, "Triplet threat." He and Dewey repeat; the three of them smile. Yeah, he has his brothers and they have him- they'll be okay. 

* * *

He's practicing waterbending again only this time Della is joining him as well as the usual people. He isn't sure how to feel about that but some part of him is nervous, he's so used to it being his Dad and brothers- and sometimes Webby but not a lot. He doesn't want to mess up in front of her but she really wants to watch him learn for some reason, she wants to see all of them learn but this is apparently his time. As if he isn't nervous enough. Learning waterbending has been the hardest thing he's ever had to do but he's been doing it and it's starting to pay off. Maybe his Uncle's right about hard work after all. Nah. 

Today he's learning the different positions of water bending, now that water is leaving his hands he actually has a use for them. It's strenuous and he messes up a lot -which is embarrassing every time- but it's also a lot of fun. His Dad is a really good teacher and Dewey is there to keep things interesting. Everyone cheers every time he gets a new technique down, even Della, and it makes him sheepishly smile each time. He feels proud of himself and it's a new feeling, but a good kind of feeling. 

He'll get this down, just like he's gotten and will get everything else down. And he'll have his family to help him do it. 

"Louie, you're doing such a good job!" Della cheers which breaks his concentration. Did she just, she just gave him a compliment. He's always wondered what one from his mom would be like. Wait, he just called her his Mom, yeah, she is, she is his Mom! 

"Thanks, Mom." He says softly. She looks at him with a look of joy mixed with tears and he knows this is just a big moment for her as it is for him. 

She smiles just as soft as his voice, "No problem, Honey." He hears awwing behind him and turns to see the others watching them. Huey elbows Dewey and he busts out laughing, it isn't long until the others join him. This is a good moment. 

* * *

He misses his firebending, he knows he's gonna get it back eventually but he still misses it. It feels like a piece of him is missing and he hates that feeling. Things are going good right now, why does he have to feel like this? He wishes he can just get rid of it but knows it isn't as easy as that. Why can't it be as easy as that? 

Unlike the last time he was upset about something he doesn't hide himself away. But he doesn't make an effort to make himself know either. That's why it's kind of surprising when someone finds him. And even more surprising who it is. "Hey, Honey, is everything okay?" 

Maybe it would be easier to talk to her, "I miss my firebending." 

"I get it." He looks at her. "There wasn't any air on the moon, it was hard. Suddenly I was without this thing that I had had my whole life, something that was supposed to be a constant. Sometimes I would thrust my hand and expect air to come out, only it never did. It was one of the reasons I was fighting so hard to get back, I wanted to get back to you all -more than anything- but I also wanted my bending back." Oh, she does get it, he didn't think she would. 

He nods, "It's like I'm missing a part of myself. Did you ever get used to it?" 

"No, I felt like if I got used to any of it I would stop trying. But Ducks, we're fighters." She says fiercely. "We don't give up and even if we do we get back up. And that's what's important. You'll get it back eventually, you just have to be patient. And hey, if it counts for anything you're farther along than Mickey was at this age."

"Wait, really?" He doesn't know how to feel about that. 

"Yeah, he was still trying to get fire down. And here you are learning your third element!" She becomes hesitant. "You can slow down a little you know. You aren't even supposed to know about it until you're sixteen. Mickey tried to learn everything too fast too, and it didn't go well for him. You have time, maybe you should focus on some other things for a while." Some other things, he thinks he has just the thing in mind. 

* * *

It wasn't supposed to go like this, he thinks while battling all sorts of people from different time periods, it just wasn't. It was supposed to be a flawless plan, how was he supposed to know Gyro's time-tub created an after blast? This is not on him, he should've put a warning on it. Yeah, that sounds weak even in his head. Well it's not that big of a problem, right? They'll just send everyone back and everything will go back to normal, just like always. There's no reason for him to panic- they're the McDuck clan, they can handle this. 

He can't handle this. 

His family has just gotten suck into the portal and he doesn't know how to get them back. It's not like this bending can save the day this time. But wait, he's more than his bending, he's more than the Avatar. He has to solve this the Louie way. He tinkers with the tub until the people disappear and his family reappears. He's so relieved that he hugs his brothers immediately. See, they could handle this. It wasn't a big deal. ...He doesn't believe that for a second. 

"I watched your brothers blink out of existence because you wanted a shortcut to- " 

"Della!" His Dad vehemently cuts in. "That's enough." He turns and bends down to Louie's level. "Louie, kiddo, we talked about this, you have to be more careful."

"I was!" He protests, because he was. "I researched the treasures and everything! I didn't know this would happen." He sobs out. His Dad's face softens and he pulls him into a hug. "I didn't know..." 

His Dad rubs his back, "We'll talk more about this tomorrow, okay? We're all alright, we're all right here and we're not going anywhere. It's gonna be okay, you're gonna be okay." They hug for a few more moments and then break up so everyone can start cleaning up. 

He doesn't contribute much to the cleaning up, though he tries. He's just not in a very cleany-up mood at the moment. It makes him feel bad, this whole thing makes him feel bad. He sees his Dad and Della fighting off to the side and his bad feeling gets worse, but he can't be alone right now so he's forced to deal with it. Maybe he deserves to deal with it. This whole thing is his fault, he deserves to feel bad about it. 

His brothers seek him out, they always do, and he looks away from them. He can't face them. "Louie, we're not mad." He knows they're not, and that makes it worse. They sit next to him, "Dad's right, it's gonna be okay. But I guess if we were gonna be mad about something it would be the fact that you kept this to yourself for so long. We would've helped you, not having to do things on your own doesn't just apply to being the Avatar. You don't have to do anything on your own, we're your brothers, Louie, let us help you when you get in over your head." 

Oh yeah, it makes sense that that's their problem. They really are the best. "Okay. But Della-"

Dewey cuts him off, "Doesn't know what she's talking about." And coming from _him_ , that's surprising. He practically idolizes her. "You didn't know this would happen, you did the best you could with the information you had. You made a bad decision and that's okay, you'll learn from it and that's what's important. Right?" He asks Huey, he nods. "So see, things'll be okay, Dad'll talk to her and make everything better." How are they this great? It isn't possible, and how did he get lucky enough to have them? Maybe it's the universe's way of making making him the Avatar up to him. He's definitely not complaining. 

This conversation doesn't make him feel like it's wasn't his fault but it helps, and sometimes that's all you can ask for. 

* * *

He's not grounded, thankfully, but he does receive a very stern lecture. His Dad is upset with him and that hurts but it's understandable and he knows it's just cause he cares about him. Della hasn't talked to him. 

That hurts too, it felt like they were really getting along. But she's avoiding him and he can't blame her. His brothers are avoiding her in an act of solidarity. It's sweet. But it's safe to say things are tense. Which is why when Scrooge offers up to go on a tiny vacation they all take it.

Big Rock Candy Mountain is everything he thought it would be and it makes him forget about everything that is happening back home. He mostly sticks with his siblings and Dad, anyone who isn't Della really, and he has the time of his life. Being there is great, but being there with his family is even better. 

So of course something has to ruin that. Or rather, someone. 

Della comes and finds him while he's on his own and they have a fight that ends with her saying, "If you wanna be a part of this family, you've gotta stop." And what right does _she_ have to say that? She's been gone for ten years! He makes his way to the bottom of the mountain and sees all of his Uncle's greatest enemies together. That's not good. He smells a scheme and no one is allowed to scheme about his family except for him. He goes up to the villains and ends up getting their trust in an amount of time that should be concerning for him but he's got bigger things to worry about. They let him on on their plan and he already sees a big flaw in it, they're trusting Glomgold - only idiots do that. 

Well, at least that makes this easier. 

He gets Glomgold to let him sign his name on the contract after coming up with a better plan and uses his full name, something Glomgold- or Duke didn't, he has a feeling that will come in handy later. The villains want to go seek his family out and that's when the hard part comes into play, he has to keep them away from them for as long as he can. They'll have a confrontation eventually but they deserve to enjoy this vacation as long as possible, most of them do anyway. And he would be lying to himself if he thinks some part of him isn't doing this to spite Della. He'll show her he can protect his family and he'll show himself he can do it without any Avatar stuff involved. He just hopes he doesn't get in over his head, he can't ask his brothers for help on this one. They aren't like him, they can't pull this off like he can and he's glad they're that way, the world doesn't need more Louie's but it does need a Huey and Dewey. 

He's able to distract the villains for the time being but he forgets the fact that his family would come looking for him. Well, they always were ones for throwing wrenches in his plans, he should be more prepared for it by now. They see him with the villains and immediately jump into action but he sends them a look he hopes they can decipher. _I have a plan, let me do it._ They all get it except one person, which isn't surprising at this point. The distrust she has in her eyes does hurt though. But whatever, he can't let it distract him. He _really_ can't get distracted right now. Which makes having them there a problem. 

Glomgold goes on about his scheme, about how pooling all of the villains' money together makes him richer than Scrooge and starts gloating. And that's when Louie reveals his trap card- Golmgold used a fake name on the contract which means the money goes to Louie. The other villains turn on Glomgold and chase him off and he turns his attention back to his family, immensely glad it worked out like he hoped it would. They're safe and Glomgold isn't the richest duck in the world, this is a good day. 

His Dad hugs him and tells him how proud he's of him but to never do that again. "But they're idiots." He replies which makes him laugh and shake his head fondly. The rest of his family gives him similar sentiments sans one and he looks at her. "I know you don't like it, but seeing angles is what I'm good at. I messed up... it's not like I'm the first person in this family to do that." 

Her face softens, "Yeah, you're really not." She sighs and bends down to his level, "I'm sorry, I never should have said that. You have a place in this family, more than I do right now and it wasn't right of me to suggest otherwise. I hope you can forgive me." Yeah, he thinks he can do that, it may take some time, but so do a lot of things. "Now just give Uncle Scrooge his company back and it'll be like none of this ever happened." Oh yeah, he's the richest duck in the world right now. Wait...

He mulls over his decision for a while and he's thinking about it even as he gets ready for bed. His brothers clearly have something they want to say to him and he listens to them. They want him to give Scrooge his company back but he's not sure he wants to. The hesitancy on his face says it all. "Louie, you're ten you can't keep it. Besides, it's not yours to keep." They're mad at him and that's really not fair. 

None of this is fair."I didn't ask for any of this to happen but it did, and I've been trying my best to be okay with it but I can't. And then something good, something I want happens and everyone gets mad at me." They look at him softly and he knows they get it. They always do when it matters. 

"It's your decision, whatever one you make we'll back." 

His time as the richest duck in the world comes and goes and with it he learns an important lesson. Humbleness, something not even his Uncle has. They get closer because of it and he finds that good things can come out of any situation. 

* * *

People from the moon are invading, he just found out there were people on the moon a few weeks ago and now they're invading. He's starting to see why his Dad is so stressed. The moon people apparently have something against the earth and Scrooge, at least their leader does. The others seem competent at best. But their leader -Lunaris- is something else, something they've never faced before. He isn't like Magica, he actually has a plan and information on all of them. Well, most information.

He doesn't know that Louie is the Avatar, he knows what bending is and that most of the people in their family have it but he doesn't know that very important fact. Finally, he can have the upper hand. He could've had it with Magica but he was nowhere near skilled enough to pull it off, he is now. This creep won't know what hit him. _Nobody_ messes with Louie's family. 

His brothers are being loud, this is the worst time for it so of course they are. They really are his idiots. "Okay, come on." He pulls them out of the conference room. "You were being too loud."

Huey threw up his hands, "See, this is exactly what I didn't want to happen! We're missing the important part!"

"It doesn't matter, I know the most important thing. We're being targeted."

"Dewey..." He couldn't have been making all that noise just for that. Dewey's smart, he knows they need to be in there right now. 

"No, you're not listening to me, WE'RE being targeted, the three of us." Dewey gestures to the three of them and he feels his heart drop. That's true, isn't it? Lunaris wants to take out Scrooge and he's gonna use weak spots to attempt it. They're weak spots. 

"Oh that's," Huey gulps. 

"Not good." Louie finishes. That's the worst possible thing he can hear, his worst fear. Only it isn't because of him, so that's something. ...He needs this right now, okay? 

"We all know how we are so we have to promise right now that we don't do something stupid to save each other." Dewey puts his hand in and Louie honestly has to think about it for a second, but they have to look out for each other so he can't. He won't let them do something stupid to stop him from doing something stupid. Huey seems to be having similar thoughts, but they both put their hands in so that's what matters. They go back into the conference room to see the adults discussing something and look at Webby to see if she knows what's going on. She shakes her head. 

The adults notice they're back and their Dad and Della come over to them. They talk about going to get recruitments but Louie cuts them off, "We know Lunaris is after us." 

"We wanna stay and fight anyways!" Dewey adds on and Louie isn't sure he wants that but he'll go along with it. Their Dad gives Della look and he thinks they definitely missed something. But before they can argue about it a loud noise thuds from outside and their Uncle looks at them all gravely. Lunaris has landed. They're out of time to make a plan and this is when Della starts freaking out. Whoa, never thought he'd see that. Nevertheless he has to help her, he knows how scary not having a plan can be. Especially when your family is in danger. 

So he tells her that while it's cool to see the angles and take control of a situation you can't plan for everything. "Sometimes, the mom you thought you lost comes back. And that's a surprise too; So you deal with the bad surprises because they may lead to a good one." 

"But what if Lunaris succeeds? What if I lose you again? What if...?" 

"You know when I'm terrified, which is often, I try to remember this old song. 'Face each new sun with eyes clear and true, unafraid of the unknown...'"

Della walks to Louie and holds his face, "'Because I'll face it all with you.' I wrote that song before I got lost. How did you hear it?" And that's when their Dad admits he used to sing it to them- which he did, every night. Della seems to get her courage back and puts on her game face. "Okay, let's take him down."

* * *

They exit the money bin to see Lunaris' ship towering above it, and isn't that foreboding? But they can defeat him he knows they can, that doesn't make him any less scared. The Avatar shouldn't be scared in this situation, they should be brave, but isn't that what brave is? Being scared to do something and doing it anyway? He can be brave, the world is counting on him. Oh, this is his moment, isn't it? He doesn't have to do it alone, that's what everyone tells him. This time he'll listen to them. 

Lunaris exits his ship but before any of them can deal with him moonlanders surround them. Their Uncle nods to them and heads to face Lunaris head-on, the moonlanders move to attack them and they jump into action. Louie makes sure to keep his brothers close to him as they deal with them all, knowing they're doing the same- Lunaris isn't getting any weak spots today. He makes sure to only use his airbending to attack, being the Avatar is his ace in the hole, he needs to only reveal it when the time is right. Meaning when he has to deal with Lunaris himself. As _Scrooge_ as his Uncle is he won't be able to take him down by himself, Louie knows that well. But Louie can't do it by himself either, even if this is his moment he's not a complete Avatar yet. 

Which is more than fine with him, he's taking his time with these things. He's not ready yet, he knows he's nowhere near it, but the earth is in danger now so he has to make do. 

They take the moonlanders out and some part of him feels bad for it cause it's clear they don't know what they're actually doing. They're just following orders. But it has to be done, they're attacking the earth and they won't stop until they're stopped. He looks to see how his Uncle is doing with Lunaris and sees that he's fighting a losing fight, it's a good thing they got done when they did. Lunaris throws his Uncle down and all of them gasp. "Any last words?" He says menacingly. Looks like the time is right. 

He sends the rest of his family a look to let them know what he's about to do, all of them get it, _all_ of them. Okay, here goes nothing. He takes a breath to steel his nerves then sends a very strong gust of air to get Lunaris to topple over. It works. Scrooge is able to get back up while Lunaris looks around to see who pushed him, his eyes narrow in on Louie. "Lunaris, leave my family alone and get off my planet." 

Lunaris chuckles amused, "Or you'll do what?" Louie smirks, he was hoping he'd say that. 

"This." He uses his hands to fuse wind and water together creating a vortex, Lunaris' eyes widen. "Weren't expecting that, were you?" He sends it towards him careful to avoid his Uncle and launches him a good few feet away. Scrooge regroups with them as Louie stumbles a bit, that's the first time he's done something like that and it shows. Webby steadies him and he smiles at her before turning to the rest of the group. "What now?" 

" _Now_ , we need to take his ship out." His mom starts. "If I remember correctly -god I hope I remember correctly- the legs are it's weaknesses. We take them out, the ship goes down." They all nod. "Lunaris is gonna get back up so we'll deal with him, kids, you take out the legs." Just as she finishes that he gets back up and zeros in on Louie once again. Well, so much for that plan. His parents push him behind them and his siblings grab onto him, he keeps his gaze on Lunaris. He isn't scared anymore, he has to protect them- that's what being the Avatar is all about. And he has them to protect him, which is what being a family is all about. 

Lunaris advances towards him. "Stay away from my kids!" His Dad roars, sending a surge of water at him. He doesn't have time to move away, even if he had predicted it and is swept away. Louie gets the feeling he won't stay away for long. But while he's away they focus their attention on the legs of the ship. With all of their combined strengths they're able to knock them down, which makes the ship collapse. They move away from the destruction as it barrels down to earth and take cover, luckily none of them get hurt. Something tells Louie to turn around so he does, just in time to see Lunaris making his way back to them. None of the others seem to notice so he gets up to stop him. This has gone on long enough. 

Before he can get too close Louie knocks him back again, "It's over! Your ship is destroyed and your people are incapacitated! You've lost!" 

"That's what you think, little duck, I still have a trick or two up my sleeve." Okay, this guy is starting to get annoying. 

Louie raises an eyebrow, "Like what?" He challenges. It's Lunaris' turn to smirk and Louie shows a neutral face, he can't let him now that he's just gotten to him. But inside he's freaking out, weak spots. He moves to cover his brothers from any attack Lunaris can possibly be planning to throw at them. But this isn't something stupid, he knows exactly what he's doing. He knows how to save them and himself while taking out Lunaris for good. Angles, they're what he's good at. 

His brothers look at him confused, "Weak spots." He explains. "I have another plan, one to end this for good but I'll need you guys to bring me back." He isn't scared anymore, not of anything. 

* * *

This is his second time going into the Avatar state and it's no better than the first. Well, at least he has more clarity this time. He knows what he's doing- or he knows enough to be able to pull it off. He doesn't have an any better grasp of control over it but he uses what's learned over the past few months to help him. Confidence, pride, knowing he's good enough to be the Avatar, knowing it's him for a reason. Knowing his family is behind him no matter what.

They give him strength, just like he does for them. 

He can do this. More importantly he wants to do this. No more avoiding this, he's the Avatar, and while an important part there's more to him, which is how he knows he wants this. He wants to protect everyone, his family, his brothers, and if he needs to be here right now to do it then he needs to be here. 

Which gets him back to the task at hand, taking down Lunaris. In this state he has control over all four elements so that's what he'll use. Hopefully, he really doesn't know how this will end, what damage he'll cause, but if he puts a stop to all this then it's worth it. He trusts himself and as long as he remembers that he's got this. 

He's not really aware of anything, it's kinda like his mind is in a haze, but he knows what he needs to do and how to do it. How he knows he doesn't know but he assumes it's something to with the past Avatars, they're all connected in this state. Either way, he fights through the haze long enough to lock onto Lunaris and send an explosion of all four elements at him. He doesn't know what happens next as he can no longer fight the haze but he hears something, at first it's soft but then it gets louder and louder until it can no longer be ignored. His name. 

It's being desperately shouted by two voices who shouldn't sound that desperate. It's not right. He has to fix it, he has to get back to them. The haze fights him with a vengeance, wanting him to stay in that state but the voices are stronger. He knows those voices, they're his favorite voices, they're the voices that can always cheer him up no matter what and get him in a way no one else ever will. They're the voices he latches onto when things get too hard or seem like they're impossible. They're the voices that make him feel like he can do anything. Including getting out of here. 

He comes back to the real world and feels two pairs of arms immediately grasp him in relief. They're okay, he saved them. He saved them all. 

* * *

His family fills him in on what happened after he went Avatar state. They tell him how he took down Lunaris enough to keep him from getting back up again and how he did it with an impressive bending display. It was nothing like any of them had ever seen according to his Uncle, it was way past his current skill level -like, _years_ ahead- according to his parents. It was really extraordinary according to his brothers, all that he knows is that it made him exhausted and he very much wants to sleep now. 

But as he looks around the rubble that is the outside of the money bin he knows that won't be happening for a while. He doesn't have to help clean up, he's done more than enough according to the others. So he sits with his brothers as they clean up and lets them excitedly finish up the story. "So after you took him down the adults go to put these weird handcuffs on him but then Della's friend comes down in her own rocket and she gets distracted by that. They have a weird but sweet reunion and her friend -Penumbra I think- looks at Lunaris and punches him right in the face! It was so cool!" 

Huey takes over from there, "While he's recovering the adults are discussing what to do with him, they decide to send him up into orbit in Penumbra's rocket but rig it to explode when it gets into space. Which you'd think would kill him but Selene came and explained to us that it didn't, he's just stuck in orbit now. Not sure how that's possible but at least he's dealt with. And while all of that was happening we were trying to get you out of the Avatar state." Louie nods as he wraps it up, sounds like this whole thing ended quite nicely, thank god. 

"Yeah, I probably really worried you, huh? Sorry." 

Dewey brushes it off, "Eh, we knew we could get you out of there." He nudges him slightly. "Don't feel guilty, you saved the day! I mean, we all did but you especially did. Like we knew you could, Avatar Louie." Louie smiles at his brothers, incredibly thankful for them and hums slightly. Avatar Louie, has a nice ring to it. 

Their conversation dies off after that so he takes the time to look at the rest of his family. His Uncle and Mrs. B are taking care of the more heavy lifting, fondly watching Webby rapidly chatter on about something. His parents are going through different rocket parts while playfully bickering, his Dad sends him a proud smile when he sees him looking that totally doesn't make him tear up. Launchpad is going around to all the different groups that came to help clean up trying to assist them any way he can. He waves at the triplets excitedly when he notices them and comes over to pull Dewey into a relief filled hug then goes off once again. The three of them share a laugh at that. 

Louie then turns his attention to everyone that came to help clean up, no doubt they were all involved in stopping the invasion in some way. That warms his heart in a way it's never been warmed before. All these different people, just as eager to save the earth as they were. That's what it's all about, isn't it? Protecting the people you care about, the place you care about- he's just like them in a lot of ways. Just wants to do what he can to achieve those goals, even if it's more than they can do. That's okay, he'll protect them anyway. That's what he has to do, what he wants to do. 

He's the Avatar, and that's more than okay with him. 


End file.
